Ivan Rodriguez's 4-year-old son of Freud landed his first top-level score for trainer Jorge Navarro with a 5 1/4-length victory over Mind Your Biscuits in the $750,000 Cigar Mile Handicap Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) Dec. 2 at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Although it is very late in the year, Dec. 2 definitely has a "big-day feel" for racing fans up and down the East Coast.
J. Keeler Johnson handicaps the Cigar Mile (G1) at Aqueduct.
Highlighted by coverage of the grade 1 Cigar Mile, presented by NYRA Bets, Aqueduct Live returns to the national airwaves on Saturday from 3-4:30 p.m. (ET) on FOX Sports 2 (FS2) with regional coverage in the New York area provided by MSG+.
So, one must ask: When is a mile not a mile? In a pure horse racing sense it is a mile run around two turns instead of the more traditional flat mile around one turn.
The lead up to the Breeders' Cup will feature the Oct. 7 $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), which had its purse trimmed by $250,000.
Paul Pompa Jr.'s Connect exited his gutsy Nov. 26 victory in the $500,000 Cigar Mile (gr. I) at Aqueduct Racetrack in good shape, trainer Chad Brown reported from his Belmont Park base the morning of Nov. 27.
Connect added to an already banner year for trainer Chad Brown as he engaged in a thrilling stretch duel with Divining Rod and just got his nose down at the wire to win the $500,000 Cigar Mile Handicap (gr. I) at Aqueduct Racetrack Nov. 26.
Trainer Todd Pletcher is banking on Anchor Down proving their collective instincts correct when the 5-year-old ridgling breaks from the rail in a field 10 in the Cigar Mile (gr. I).
Tonalist came flying with a big late run Nov. 28 to win the $670,000 Cigar Mile (gr. I) at Aqueduct Racetrack, edging out Red Vine in a photo finish after tracking far back under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez.
Blinkers will go back on Tonalist, who comes off a fifth in the 1 1/4-mile Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I), as he takes on defending Cigar Mile winner Private Zone after that rival's second in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I).
Trainer Christophe Clement was in good spirits Nov. 22 when discussing Tonalist and Red Vine, his dual threat for the $500,000 Cigar Mile Handicap (gr. I) Nov. 28 at Aqueduct Racetrack.
The horse who ran fourth in the Oct. 31 Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT) will get a chance to run that same distance on dirt in the Nov. 28 Cigar Mile (gr. I) at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Robert Evans' Tonalist, fifth in the Oct. 31 Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I), will likely start next in the Nov. 28 Cigar Mile (gr. I). Also, a deal in 2014 for Lane's End to acquire an interest in the colt has been canceled.
Private Zone, runner-up to Flat Out in the 2013 edition of the Cigar Mile Handicap (gr. I), returned Nov. 29 to claim victory going wire to wire in the $753,750 event at Aqueduct Racetrack.
J. Keeler Johnson handicaps the Hollywood Derby and Cigar Mile.
While the Metropolitan Handicap (gr. I) gets the most buzz from the 'best milers make the best sires' adage, the Cigar Mile (gr. I) coming up on Nov. 29 has also produced its fair share of top stallions.
A solid field will line up Nov. 29 for the $500,000 Cigar Mile (gr. I) at Aqueduct Racetrack, as grade I winners Secret Circle and Itsmyluckyday face off amongst a cast that includes Private Zone, Vyjack, and Bourbon Courage.
Fields are taking shape for the Nov. 29 Cigar Mile (gr. I) stakes program at Aqueduct Racetrack, featuring four graded events worth a combined $1.7 million.
The 17-year-old son of Mr. Greeley has been purchased by Mr. Tevfik Celikoglu and will stand in Turkey for the 2015 breeding season, it was announced Oct. 14.
Recently retired three-time grade I winner Flat Out will enter stud for 2014 at B. Wayne Hughes' Spendthrift Farm in Lexington. He will participate in Spendthrift's Share The Upside program and stand for a fee of $10,000.
Three-time grade I winner Flat Out has been retired, owner Art Preston confirmed. Stallion plans are pending.
Evan Hammonds reviews Honor Code, Flat Out, and Will Take Charge vs. Game On Dude. Watch recaps of the Clark Handicap, Cigar Mile, and Remsen Stakes.
Evan Hammonds reviews Honor Code, Flat Out, and Will Take Charge vs. Game On Dude. Watch recaps of the Clark Handicap, Cigar Mile, and Remsen Stakes.
Preston Stables' hard-knocking Flat Out took the overland route to victory Nov. 30 in the Cigar Mile (gr. I), a race worth $753,000 due to the winner's previous grade I-winning status.
Top female sprinter Groupie Doll nearly won the Cigar Mile (gr. I) a year ago. Now she's back with a new slate of rivals to contend with, including grade I winners Goldencents and Verrazano.
TimeformUS Plays for Thanksgiving Weekend, including the Fall Highweight, the Clark, and the Citation.
In her final breeze in preparation for the Cigar Mile Handicap (gr. I) Nov. 30 at Aqueduct Racetrack, Groupie Doll completed four furlongs in :48.55 on the Belmont Park training track Nov. 25.
Reigning champion female sprinter Groupie Doll breezed a half mile Nov. 16 on the Belmont Park training track as she prepares for her second career start against males in the Cigar Mile Handicap (gr. I) Nov. 30 at Aqueduct.
Groupie Doll, acquired by Mandy Pope's Whispering Hill Farm Nov. 6 at the Keeneland November breeding stock sale, will remain in training for the time being with her longtime conditioner, Buff Bradley.
Goldencents, winner of the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (gr. I), will make his next start in the $500,000 Cigar Mile (gr. I) at Aqueduct Racetrack Nov. 30, according to majority owner Glenn Sorgenstein.
Donn Handicap (gr. I) winner Graydar will be forced to miss the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (gr. I) Nov. 1 at Santa Anita Park after a quarter crack in his left front hoof was discovered Monday morning.
Top jock Ramon Dominguez will miss the next three weeks of racing after recently bruising his foot at Aqueduct Racetrack, his agent Steve Rushing said.
Evan Hammonds recaps the Thanksgiving holiday weekend races, including the Remsen S., Cigar Mile, Clark H., and Fall Highweight H.
Notching his first win since the 2011 Travers Stakes (gr. I), Repole Stables' Stay Thirsty got the bob on Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (gr. I) winner Groupie Doll in the $343,000 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct Nov. 24.
Charles Fipke's homebred Jersey Town has been scratched from the Nov. 24 Cigar Mile Handicap (gr. I) at Aqueduct with a fever in what was supposed to have been the horse's final start.
Greetings from St. Petersburg, Florida, where after one huge meal and two entertaining NFL games, I am ready to tackle the weekend cards.
Off a smashing victory in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, Groupie Doll, from the outside post of 7, challenges a salty cast of older runners in the Nov. 24 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct.
Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (gr. I) winner Groupie Doll breezed a half-mile in :48 1/5 at Churchill Downs Nov. 17 in preparation for a possible start against the boys in the $350,000 Cigar Mile (gr. I) Nov. 24.
Potential Clark Handicap (gr. I) highweight Shackleford breezed at Churchill Downs Nov. 17; a decision will be made Nov. 19 regarding his final start. Clark contenders Bourbon Courage and Cease were also on the worktab.
Stay Thirsty, winner of the 2011 Travers Stakes (gr. I), will stand for $17,500 in 2013 at Ashford Stud near Versailles, Ky. The son of Bernardini will contest his final start in the Nov. 24 Cigar Mile (gr. I) at Aqueduct.
Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (gr. I) winner Groupie Doll was scheduled to go to trainer Buff Bradley's farm earlier this week, but will now prep for a possible start in the Nov. 24 Cigar Mile (gr. I) at Aqueduct.
Shackleford, the 2011 Preakness Stakes (gr. I) winner, will likely make one more start before retiring to stud at John Phillips' Darby Dan Farm in Lexington, according to trainer Dale Romans.
Cutting back in distance in search of his first grade I win, To Honor and Serve put away Calibrachoa in upper stretch and held off Hymn Book late to take the Cigar Mile Handicap Nov. 26 at Aqueduct.
With four wins at the track and a strong comeback effort in his most recent start, Haynesfield figures prominently in the $250,000 Cigar Mile (gr. I), which headlines Aqueduct's Nov. 26 program.
Bill Mott is pointing To Honor and Serve to the $250,000 Cigar Mile Handicap (gr. I) Nov. 26 at Aqueduct.
In a star-studded field that included four Breeders' Cup starters, it was the longest shot on the board, Jersey Town, who pulled a 34-1 shocker in the Hill 'N' Dale Cigar Mile (gr. I) Nov. 27 at Aqueduct.
Four horses coming out of Breeders' Cup races will return for a bang-up edition of the $250,000 Hill 'N' Dale Cigar Mile Handicap (gr. I) Nov. 27 at Aqueduct.
Vinery, which has recently opened a breeding operation in New York, has added stallion Purge to its Empire State line-up.
Son of Posse won the Carter, Vosburgh, and Hill 'n' Dale Cigar Mile (all gr. I) for Vinery Stables and Fox Hill Farm
